H.L. Hunt said; "To be successful in business.?..Decide what you want, want you're willing to give-up to get it, set some priorities, and get busy!" It's that "give up to get it " that hits the mark !

I have two clients inside their chapter 11 bankruptcy, 6 month re-organization period. Drastic measures are being forced by banks and lenders to re-structure business strategy. Therefore the measures are being done as a reaction. Both principals admit they would have rather executed these measures beforehand, as pro-active tactics to ride the storm. Sadly, they admit they were blind, resistant, and miscued the solutions for survival especially when solutions were staring them in the face.

Marketing must take the front seat of all things you do !
This year, you need to better position yourself to be a better sales organization!
When owners get done with issues of the day, get right back to marketing !
Those that survive 2009 with pride, will have made major new marketing moves, many of which will be judged as inappropriate choices, ( but those critics were the losers ! ) Don't believe that your definition of marketing is the right one....someone else more customer focused, and in-tune to what the market tells them, will win.

Your market has shrunk, more shrinkage is possible. What pro-active steps are you taking, immediately, to increase your slice of that market. Don't look back on the year with blame towards any situation or anyone else other than the one in the mirror! Doing nothing is not an option. Remember Gunny Highway; HeartBreak Ridge: We overcome...we adapt...we improvise !